Hello my name is Tisha; I am a native woman living in a village on Zanzibar Island in Africa. I enjoy living on Zanzibar Island, it is very beautiful with lots of water and trees. There is a large fishing and dugout canoe production on the island. There is also a large harbour about 10 minutes from my home. I love to go down and watch the ships sail in and out. It is hard to watch the dhows leave because you know they are filled with slaves going off to India.
Most of the food that people on the island eat is food they grow themselves such as beans, squash, corn, potatoes, and carrots. We also eat berries and nuts that grow in the wild. If you happen to live near a river you would eat fish such as sammon and trout. Some people on the island eat wild meat such as deer, rabbit, or pigeon.
I have to go pick some fruit for breakfast. Right again soon.
-Tisha
Hello Tisha,
My name is Francisco de Almeida. I live in Lisbon, Portugal and when I came across your post, I just realized how different your ways of life are compared to mine!
From the picture you have provided, Dhows look like very large ships. We have large ships here too, but we use them to explore the world. They are wonderful, large ships and get us to wherever we need to go. They hold about 30 men. How often do Dhows transport slaves to India?
“Well I need to go and pick some fruit for breakfast.” From reading this sentence, I assume you people gather your food. We usually get our food from the crops we grow, and farmers have their livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.). They are sold in shops for people to buy, but if you own a farm, you can just grow your own food and only give some to the shops. Our ways of getting food seem very different compared to yours!
I enjoyed reading this post and learning about your ways of life in Zanzibar. Perhaps we’ll meet some day.
Sincerely,
Francisco de Almeida
By: Francisco de Almeida on June 17, 2007
at 11:25 am
Hello Francisco de Almedia.
It sounds like we have a very differnt life stlye. The Dhow transport slaves to India every couple of months.
-Tisha
By: Tisha on June 18, 2007
at 7:13 pm